In the sport of golf, it is desirable to repeatedly practice swinging a golf club and striking a golf ball. It is important to achieve consistent golf ball flight patterns. A golfer can watch the flight of his golf ball, after striking it, to see if he or she is hitting the golf ball correctly.
Typically a golfer will go to a driving range to hit golf standard golf balls and to watch the flight patterns of those golf balls after hitting them. However, not every golfer can conveniently have access to driving ranges. In addition, it is expensive to practice often at a driving range.
Some golfers practice their golf swing in their backyard using non-standard golf balls, which fly shortened distances compared to standard golf balls. However, this method of practicing a golf swing still requires a large area, such as a large backyard. An alternative way for practicing a golf swing is to hit a standard or non standard golf ball into a conventional cage or net or other blocking/protecting material. However, it is difficult to follow the flight of the ball using this technique. These cage or net techniques typically do not provide accurate feedback about the practice swing.
There are some commercially available electronics apparatus that can provide golf ball flight parameter measurements. Most of these devices are based on radar for the measurements. These devices are often very expensive and complicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,644 B1 to Aubert discloses a portable target 10 for sporting projectiles. (Aubert, col. 4, Ins. 29-30). The target 10 includes a horizontal metal shelf 28 and a vertical wall 32, which is perpendicular to the shelf 28. (Aubert, col. 4, Ins. 60-63). The wall 32 is made of a mesh material. (Aubert, col. 4, Ins. 59-60). There is no indication that a golf ball impacting the mesh material would make an impression or leave any noticeable mark. The wall 32 is a blank wall without any image. An individual would hit golf balls towards the wall 32 and they would land on the shelf 28 between partitions. (Aubert, col. 6, Ins. 3-10).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,386 to Parks discloses a sports training target 10 including a plurality of shutters. (Parks, col. 4, Ins. 58-64). The target elements 50 of the shutters can be hit by a high speed projectile 54, such as a baseball or hockey puck. (Parks, col. 8, Ins. 9-18). The target elements 50 take a hit from a projectile 54, and rotate to allow the projectile 54 to pass through an opening 52, and thereafter target elements 50 return to their original position. (Parks, col. 8, Ins. 14-19). The shutter or target elements 50 are made of a material, which sustains little or no damage when struck repeatedly by sports projectiles. (Parks, col. 7, Ins. 1-11). Visual images or markers can be placed on the shutter or target elements 50. (Parks, col. 9, Ins. 39-41).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,115 to McLain discloses a practice target device for thrown, hit, or kicked balls. The target includes a netting 22 and a pocket 24, which may be the same material as the netting 22. (Mclain, col. 3, Ins. 3-15).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,699 to Macaluso discloses a foldable net 10. (Macaluso, col. 2, Ins. 43-45). The net 10 has a fabric section 42 which is arranged to absorb the impact of a projectile such as a golf ball, tennis ball, baseball, football and the like. (Macaluso, col. 3, Ins. 8-15).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,901 to Bison et al. discloses a sport target apparatus 100. (Bison, col. 2, In. 65—col. 3, In. 4). The apparatus 100 includes a target area 120, which includes a solid patch of material. (Bison, col. 3, Ins. 30-37). Target area 120 may be a natural or synthetic material, or vinyl or plastic sheet. (Id.) The target apparatus 100 can be used as a driving target for golf. (Bison, col. 6, Ins. 38-59).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,878,078 to Swanson discloses a baseball pitching target 20. (Swanson, col. 5, Ins. 30-35). When a first baseball 19 impacts the target 20, it creates a first visible indentation 18 of the target layer 27. (Swanson, col. 5, Ins. 57-67). When a second baseball impacts the target 20, it creates a second visible indentation or the target layer 27 and also smooths out the first visible indentation 18. (Id.) Visual indicia 21, 22, and 23 on the target 20 define different areas of a strike zone. (Swanson, col. 6, Ins. 3-15).